Crushed in Cincy

I know this is supposed to be a training journal for the U13s.  However, part of the reason that I'm keeping this is to be able to look back on what I did with this group in order to maximize the training efficiency with age groups to come.  So, as the U13s are a flagship group for our Academy program, it seems pertinent that I add in comments about this current program as well as it is all linked together.

I knew this event was going to be challenging for the traveling Academy teams, but I had no idea that our younger teams would be handled so easily in some matches.  Granted a 6-1 thrashing on an 8v8 field is not as bad as the same result on a large field at the older age groups, but still... 6-1 is 6-1. 

Our U11G East and U12G East teams are undoubtedly already among the top teams at their respective age groups here in MN.  Our U11G South Academy team is also a strong MN team, and I have yet to see any MN team come close to giving our talented U10s a game.  All of a sudden though, thrown into a mix of some of the biggest RII clubs in the Midwest, it is clearly evident that we are not there yet when it comes to fielding truly strong teams at the younger age levels.  This isn't a bad thing though by any means as it is good for some of these teams to feel what it's like to be on the not-so-nice end of a 6-1 defeat, something that not one of these teams will ever experience at their age group here in MN.  With losing come more life lessons that with winning. 

I'm waiting for more detailed game reports from the coaches as well as the video that some parents were taking of the games as I'm eager to see (on tape) how the U10 - U12 teams from some of the Region II Big Dawg clubs play.  In what ways are they better than us?  Technically?  Tactically?  Physically?  What skill sets to these top teams possess that we lack?  How can we develop programming that can address these deficiencies in our local talent?  This is what I'm interested in, and this the main reason (not being able to witness these young teams from other clubs) that I was really bummed about not making the trip. 

Here are some of the results.

U10 Girls BTFC Academy 97

vs Warren County (OH) L 5-1
vs Cleveland FC (OH) L 4-1
vs Ohio Premier Black (OH) W 4-0
vs Sycamore Arsenal (OH) W 1-0

U11 Girls BTFC Academy 96 (East)

vs FC Pride 96 White (IN) L 6-1
vs Michigan Hawks 96 Black (MI) L 4-2
vs Ohio Premier Shox (OH) L 3-1
vs Warren County (OH) W 4-0

U11 Girls BTFC Academy 96 (South)

vs Ohio Premier Nike (OH) L 7-2
vs Warren County (OH) L 2-1
vs Vardar Elite (MI) L 5-1
vs Ohio Premier Swoosh (OH) L 6-1

U12 Girls BTFC Academy 95

vs GSE Cardinals (OH) L 2-0
vs St Louis Soccer Club (MO) T 2-2
vs Lexington Premier (KY) L 3-0
vs Michigan Hawks 95 Black (MI) W 2-1

	U10 Girls		GP	W	L	T	Pts	GD	GA	GF
Group A
1	OP U10 GREEN	A2	3	2	1	0	6	2	6	8
2	97 Novi Jags Green	A1	3	1	2	0	3	-2	8	10
3	Sycamore Arsenal	A3	3	0	3	0	0	-9	15	1
Group B
1	Michigan Hawks 97 Black	B2	3	3	0	0	9	8	1	17
2	GSE Cardinals	B1	3	2	1	0	6	3	6	9
3	MTSC Freedom Blue	B3	3	1	2	0	3	-2	13	4
Group C
1	Warren County	C3	2	2	0	0	6	5	1	7
2	Cleveland Fc	C2	2	1	1	0	3	1	3	4
3	Bangu Tsunami 97.e Blue	C1	2	0	2	0	0	-6	9	2
Group D
1	MICHIGAN GATORS	D1	2	2	0	0	6	5	2	7
2	CUSC Academy '97	D2	2	1	1	0	3	-2	6	4
3	OP U10 Black	D3	2	0	2	0	0	-3	6	3
	U11 Girls		GP	W	L	T	Pts	GD	GA	GF
Group A
1	Novi Jaguars '96 Girls Green	A2	3	3	0	0	9	9	2	13
2	Carmel United	A3	3	2	1	0	6	-1	8	7
3	Westside Extreme	A4	3	1	2	0	3	-3	11	7
4	OP SWOOSH	A1	3	0	3	0	0	-5	9	3
Group B
1	OP SHOX	B3	3	3	0	0	9	7	3	12
2	Michigan Hawks 96 Black	B1	3	1	2	0	3	-2	9	5
3	Bangu Tsunami 96.e Blue	B2	3	0	3	0	0	-7	13	4
Group C
1	Vardar Elite 96	C2	3	3	0	0	9	9	3	17
2	OP NIKE	C1	3	2	1	0	6	2	10	12
3	WC United Blue G95	C4	3	1	2	0	3	-4	9	3
4	Bangu Tsunami 96.s Blue	C3	3	0	3	0	0	-7	14	4
Group D
1	U-11 Cardinal Premier	D1	3	3	0	0	9	6	3	9
2	KCFC FIRE U-11	D3	3	1	2	0	3	-2	13	11
3	FC Pride '96 White	D2	3	1	2	0	3	-2	10	10
	U12 Girls		GP	W	L	T	Pts	GD	GA	GF
Group A
1	Warren County	A1	3	3	0	0	9	7	1	10
2	MTSC United Blue	A4	3	2	1	0	6	-1	7	5
3	Eclipse Select	A3	3	1	2	0	3	-3	7	3
4	Michigan Gators 95 Black	A2	3	0	3	0	0	-3	5	2
Group B
1	Lexington Premier	B2	3	2	0	1	7	6	0	6
2	St. Louis Soccer Club--Wipke	B1	3	1	0	2	5	3	2	6
3	GSE Cardinal Premier	B3	3	1	2	0	3	-4	7	2
4	Bangu Tsunami	B4	3	0	2	1	1	-5	7	2
Group C
1	JB Marine	C1	3	2	0	1	7	5	2	7
2	Michigan Gators Orange 95	C2	3	2	0	1	7	4	0	4
3	LUSC Hurricanes	C3	3	1	2	0	3	-3	5	2
4	Cleveland FC	C4	3	0	3	0	0	-6	7	1
Group D
1	Michigan Hawks 95 Black	D3	3	3	0	0	9	4	5	9
2	OP U12 GREEN	D1	3	2	1	0	6	3	5	8
3	Sycamore Arsenal	D4	3	0	2	1	1	-3	7	4
4	Brentwood Apex	D2	3	0	2	1	1	-4	9	5

A grand total for 4 wins, 11 losses, and 1 tie among the four teams, with a goal differential of -19( 23 for, 42 against).  Not very stellar. 

It will be interesting to gauge parents' reactions to this event in the coming days as I know more than one expects winning to be synonymous with our club.  It is my hope that they see this event for what it was, a positive all around event for the young girls that has surely made for many happy lasting memories.  Moreover, I think Andy and Garth (the coaches with the teams this weekend) will return to MN armed with new training ideas based on the performances they saw this weekend, training ideas that will go a long way towards helping the individual and team development of the kids in the program. 

For me, I may have to re-think sending our teams to events like this in the future.  Yes, as I mentioned, I do believe that there are many positives to be gained from an experience like this, but it's difficult as a program director to have the families go through the added expense and inconvenience of travel only to get hammered in many games.  Parents are putting a lot of trust in my guidance regarding issues like this, and it's tough sometimes to always feel that I'm doing the right thing. 

Not Off to Cincinnati

I went over to Corner Kick tonight to see the four younger teams off on the busses to the Arsenal Elite Invitational in Cincinnati.  The girls were excited for sure, excited about the bus ride, excited about the hotel, excited about the tournament.  The parents who were boarding the bus for the 12+ hour ride looked a little less excited, probably wondering what they were getting themselves into. 

The teams will undoubtedly face some of the stiffest competition any of them will face this entire summer.  There is a very good chance that all the young teams will get crushed on the field, but I know that the coaches will stress the learning experience for long term development. 

I'm bummed not to be going as the competition at the U13 group, as with all the groups at this event, is excellent.  However, as I mentioned earlier in this journal, our prime objective is State Cup and we could not afford to play a tough weekend of soccer, jump on the bus for the return trip, get home sometime Monday morning, then have to head up to Coon Rapids for an evening game against one of the stronger teams in the event (Wayzata). 

We will train tomorrow and Saturday, take Sunday off, then see what Monday evening will bring.

Foregoing a Top Event for State Cup

After pondering it for about a second after seeing our State Cup draw, I decided to pull the girls from the Arsenal Elite Invitational (Cincinnati, OH, April 27 - 28).  It would have been a great event for us as many of the teams there would likely represent their states at Regionals in June.

However, we've been clear about our goal of representing Minnesota this year at Regionals, and there is no way I can sacrifice performance in our first game against Wayzata by attending the Arsenal event.  The girls would have a tough, competitive weekend for sure in Cincinnati and that alone would have stopped me from taking them.  Couple in the 12 to 14 hour bus ride after Sunday's game, rolling into MN sometime Monday morning, then playing at 8:00PM that night, would have been too much to ask. 

The tournament is disappointed that we won't be making it, but the director understands our situation.  The four other Bangu Tsunami girls teams are still planning to attend (U10 East Academy, U11 East Academy, U11 South Academy, and U12 East Academy) and it should be a very challenging and memorable event for all of them.   

Arsenal Elite Invitational - Accepted Teams Posted

Accepted teams were posted for the upcoming Arsenal Elite Invitational in late April.  We are planning on bussing down there with 5 BTFC teams (the East Academy U10G, U11G, and U12G, the South Academy U11G, and my U13s).  Should be a fun event!

This should be a great event for us in prep for Regionals as (assuming things work out as planned for us and for other top seed teams) we will likely see many of these teams in Des Moines in late June.

Arsenal Elite Invitational - U13 Girls		State	Region	Nation
94 Impact USA Nike	Knoxville, TN	4	22 (R3)
Bangu Tsunami 93/94 Blue	Woodbury, MN	1	15
Blue Valley Stars Ratpack	Overland Park, KS	1	6	20
Brentwood Power	Brentwood, TN	1	10 (R3)	45
Canton Celtic 94 Red	Canton, MI	4	36
CUSC Academy 94	Carmel, IN	1	7	22
Eclipse Select	Libertyville, IL	1	1	1
FC Pride	Indianapolis, IN	2	22
Germantown Fury	Germantown, TN	3	17 (R3)
Hillard Hurricanes	Hillard, OH	10
JB Marine - Mason	St Louis, MO	4	14
Michigan Gators 94 Orange	Macomb, MI	2	4	11
Michigan Hawks	Livonia, MI	1	2	5
Missouri Premier SC	St Louis, MO	3	12	42
MTSC Blaze	Cincinnati, OH	3	13	48
Ohio Premier Green	Dublin, OH	4	19
St Louis SC - Schmitt	St Louis, MO	1	5	17
Sycamore Arsenal	Cincinnati, OH	8
VardarStars 94	Detroit, MI	3	9	27
WC United Blue	Mason, OH	1	3	8
Rankings as of March 12/2007, www.nationalsoccerranking.com